It is often desirable when dealing with firearms to have methods and devices available for preventing theft or accidental or unauthorized discharge of the firearms. Although many such methods and devices are known, most are in some way unsuitable or problematic.
One desirable feature of a safety device which is aimed at preventing unauthorized use of a firearm is the ability to lock the safety device in place. Many devices are unsuitable for preventing unauthorized use simply because they cannot be locked in place, and thus can be bypassed by simply removing the device. Examples of such devices include the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,619,062 issued to Johnson, and the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,362 issued to Melcher.
Some firearm safety devices provide an unsatisfactory solution in that their use requires modification of the firearm, such as by modifying existing parts or adding additional parts to the firearm. For example, the magazine safety device described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,362 issued to Melcher requires modifying the pistol itself to include an additional spring and plate. Similarly, the device described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,384,420 issued to Von Muller requires modification of the firearm by drilling a hole into the slide or bolt carrier of the firearm.
A firearm safety device also may be unsuitable because it can be easily overcome by simply disassembling a portion of the device or firearm. For example, the magazine safety described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,362 issued to Melcher can be bypassed by simply disassembling the firearm and removing the safety device.
Some firearm safety devices, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,782,029 issued to Brooks, rely on the device being positioned and subsequently "locked" to prevent use of the firearm. Although it may be desirable in some instances to have a safety device that can be positioned in the firearm, but still allow use of the firearm, in other instances such a feature is undesirable as it increases the likelihood that the firearm will be judged to be inoperative when in fact it is not. Moreover, such devices tend to rely on moveable parts to prevent the firearm from being discharged. Such a reliance on moveable parts is at times also undesirable due to the tendency of such parts to wear out and/or fail.
Another feature which may be undesirable in a firearm safety device is the need to insert a portion of the device into the barrel of the firearm, as with the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,174 issued to Bentley, and the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,377 issued to Gunning. Insertion of anything into the barrel of a firearm may be undesirable because of the potential for damage to the barrel.
Yet another feature which may be undesirable in a firearm safety device is that use of the device requires storing and or transporting the firearm in a condition in which it would normally not be stored or transported. As an example, the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,016,377 issued to Gunning intentionally requires that the action be left open while the device is in use. Similarly, one embodiment of the device of U.S. Pat. No. 5,532,729 issued to Von Muller requires that the slide be partially pulled back to allow it to be blocked.
Thus there is a continuing need to develop new firearm locking devices and methods.